Our Beliefs & Values

Faith and Scripture

At the center of UBC’s life together is a deep and abiding faith in God, as revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We discover who Jesus is as we read the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and Scripture is foundational to our lives as individuals and as a community. While we each bring our own viewpoints and perspectives, we are drawn together by our faith in God, and we devote ourselves to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Loving, Intergenerational Community

UBC brings together people from all stages of life, caring for one another as a family. As a “town and gown” congregation, part of our mission is to connect students, faculty, staff, and local families into one community. Through our worship, fellowship, study, and missions engagement, our congregation grows closer to one another and to God. We facilitate programs and opportunities specifically for children, youth, college students, adults, and seniors, as well as ministries that bring all of our generations together.

A Welcoming and Diverse Fellowship

Seeking to be an authentic community of Christians who love and care for each other as a family, University Baptist Church openly welcomes and includes all people regardless of age, background, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, or sexual orientation. We believe that all people have important gifts to share in God’s family. Full rights and responsibilities of membership in University Baptist Church are open to all who publicly profess a personal faith in Jesus Christ through Christian baptism. We affirm the leadership of women in all areas of church life, taking pride in our history of ordaining women as deacons and ministers, which we see as a faithful response to God’s calling.

Growing in Discipleship

We are always seeking to grow in our faith and in our faithfulness to God’s calling. We believe that each person is called to a unique role in the family of God, and our hope as a church is to encourage one another and to help each person live into their identity in Christ. Our emphasis on Christian education and formation takes the form of small group Bible study, insightful guest speakers, and steady spiritual growth through participation in the worship life of the church. In our life together, we seek to cultivate a thoughtful, informed faith, unafraid to wrestle with difficult questions, trusting God’s spirit to bring us to a deeper understanding of the Good News.

Sharing God’s Love through Missions

As a people who have experienced the love of God in our own lives, we strive now to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our faith compels us into action on behalf of others, ministering to the physical, mental, and spiritual needs we encounter in our neighbors. Inspired by Christ’s compassion and ministry among the poor, marginalized, and outcast of society, we seek to participate in the work God is already doing in the world. At UBC, this takes the form of missions education, long-term partnerships with individuals and community agencies, and hands-on service projects impacting our community and beyond. In all that we do, we seek to participate in the kingdom of God on earth, doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.

Historic Baptist Values

As a Baptist church, we affirm the following “Four Central Freedoms,” which historically have been identified with Baptists:

Bible Freedom — Affirms that the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, should be central in the life of the individual, and Christians are both free and obligated to study it.

Individual Freedom — Often referred to as the “priesthood of the believer,” this Freedom affirms that each person has the freedom and responsibility to deal with God without the interference of creed, clergy, or government.

Church Freedom — Often referred to as the “autonomy of the local church,” this Freedom affirms that churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to ordain whom they see fit, to order their worship and work, and to participate in the larger Body of Christ worldwide.

Religious Freedom — We affirm freedom OF religion, freedom FOR religion and freedom FROM religion, all of which are accomplished best through the separation of church and state.

Our Mission Statement

God has called University Baptist Church to minister to the University Community and to the residents of the Greater Charlottesville-Albemarle Community serving as agents of Christ’s love and justice for those in need and offering a vital family of faith.